Page 10 - English 9 | Activity Book 9

Reading Activity

» What could be the first invitation card for in history?
» Have you ever written an invitation? If yes, to whom did you write and why did you write?
» If you wanted to design an invitation card in a new style, how would you change the design and the content?
» You have enough money and time to throw a party.
• What kind of party do you want to throw?
• Can you tell us about the party's preparations?
• What are you going to do during the party?

THE HISTORY OF INVITATION CARDS

In the 1400s, people invited each other orally to celebrate their special days, such as birthdays or wedding
anniversaries. In the Middle Ages, town criers simply announced the wedding in the square of the towns or
villages. Some of them used different musical instruments to attract the attention of the public walking on the
streets or in front of the shops. They used drums or clarinets to make louder noises to attract enough attention.
In the 1600s, there was a remarkable growth in announcing weddings by using papers. In the 18th century, only
the elite class could get an education from teachers or schools. So, they could write and read the invitation cards.
This was a sign of being a member of the high class of society. They often put a wax seal on the envelope, and
this showed the family's name. Another critical point in the invitation was the writing style, so the importance
of calligraphy (the art of producing decorative handwriting or lettering with a pen or brush) improved so much
that many people from the upper class wanted to learn calligraphy. The late 1800s witnessed telegram wedding
invitations which were very quick and safe. Many people tried to send their invitations to far distances by this
method. In the 1900s, people used photo thermography to write cards very quickly and cheaply.
In the 20th century, people began to write colourful cards and used modern fonts like Comic Sans. This kind of
style attracted people's attention more than other fonts. Now, there are a lot of changes in creativity, variety,
and designs. For example, laser cuts and pastel designs are among the most popular ways of preparing invitation
cards. People create cards in different styles, which match the event's theme. For example, if it is a baby shower,
the colours are soft and simple. If it is about a girl's birthday, the colours are generally purple or pink. If it is a
boy's event, the colour is often blue. Nowadays we are talking about electronic (digital) invitations. There are
different applications that we use to send a digital invitation to thousands of people at a time. The writing of
invitation seems to change a lot in the future.

ORTAÖĞRETİM 10 ENGLISH-9
GENEL MÜDÜRLÜĞÜ